Manufacturing Systems Configuration Complexity

A new Complexity Coding System is introduced to classify and code the machines, buffers and material handling equipment in manufacturing systems. A Code-based Structural Complexity Index is proposed to capture the amount and variety of information related to these components. The probability of a manufacturing systemʹs success in delivering the desired production capacity, as function of the availability of its components, is used as an additional measure of the system complexity in meeting the targeted forecast production volume with its variation. The application of the Coding System and two Complexity Indices in comparing manufacturing system configurations is demonstrated using a cylinder block-machining example with consistent results.